SU College of Law student wins national writing award

Jessica Caterina, a third-year Syracuse University College of Law student, was selected to receive the 2011 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing. Her work—“Glorious Bastards: The Legal and Civil Birthright of Adoptees to Access Their Medical Records in Search of Genetic Identity,” published in Volume 61, Book 1, of the Syracuse Law Review—was one of only 15 selected in the nation. She will attend a June celebration at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., to recognize her work. This is the second consecutive year an SU law student has won this prestigious award.

“Winning a Burton Award is an incredible honor. Obtaining a legal degree from Syracuse University College of Law has been a wonderful journey, both personally and professionally,” Caterina says.“My note’s subject is close to my heart and it means the world to me that others care about this issue.”

Caterina earned a bachelor’s degree from Bennington College in 2000. At Syracuse University College of Law, she is a member of the Syracuse Law Review, a member of the Justinian Honor Society, a recipient of the Dean’s Distinguished Student Award, a Law School Ambassador and a teaching assistant for Professor Ian Gallacher. She will graduate magna cum laude on May 15.

After graduation, Caterina will join the law firm of Arnold & Porter, LLP, in New York City.

The Burton Awards were established by William C. Burton in 1999 to reward practitioners and law school students “who use plain, clear and concise language and avoid archaic, stilted legalese.”